We're Vegetarians, Right?, Today's School Lunches, & Kale Ratatouille Recipe

Good morning!

It looks like today is going to be a beautiful day!  

Here is what my kiddos took for lunch today...

Organic pb apple ring sandwiches, grapes, tomatoes (1st grader), left over kale ratatouille over organic red quinoa (1st grader), preservative free prunes (K), organic red quinoa, organic cucumber slices (K), & 1/2 a slice of GH Dakota bread w/butter.

We had an interesting conversation at the dinner table last night.  My 7 year old, with a smile upon seeing a new dish put in front of him...

"We're vegetarians, aren't we mom?"

"Yes, we are.  How did you know that?"

"I hear you say it all the time, so I just knew."

"Well, do you like being a vegetarian?"

"Yeah, I love it.  I love who I am, and would never want to change who I am."

If that doesn't melt a mother's heart, make her so proud, and give her encouragement, I don't know what will.  I love my babies.  

Since this is the dish that prompted my son's proclamation of vegetarian love, I'd like share to share last night's dinner recipe with you. 

I got the recipe from Meatless Monday.  Meatless Monday is an organization that promotes eating less meat, for health reasons. This recipe for Kale Ratatouille showed up in my Facebook news feed yesterday, and just like that, I knew what we were having for dinner. 

:)

Kale Ratatouille

Serves 8

• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 small yellow onions, thinly sliced
• 1 large sprig fresh rosemary
• or
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 2 springs fresh thyme
• or
• 1 tablespoon dried thyme
• 1 pint grape tomatoes
• 1 small zucchini, quartered
• 1 red pepper, thinly sliced
• 1 (28-ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes
• 4 cups shredded kale
• 1 teaspoon salt

Heat the oil in a large sauté pan over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic to the pan and sauté for 4-6 minutes, or until lightly browned.

Add the rosemary, thyme, tomatoes, zucchini, pepper, tomatoes, kale and salt to the pan. Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes or so. If using fresh herbs, take out the sprigs when the dish has simmered together and enjoy!

This dish is incredibly simple to make, once you have all of your vegetables prepped, and looks so beautiful while cooking.

Here are some pics...

Chopping up the kale.  I used a little over 1/2 a bunch.

2 different stages of cooking...look how beautiful all of those colors are together! 

I made a few changes and substitutions...

I used 1/2 an organic zucchini and 1/2 an organic yellow squash (organic is the only way to be certain that they aren't GM).  I was out of grape tomatoes, so I used a whole tomato, cut into a chunky dice.  I used 2 cans (BPA free lining) of Muir Glen organic diced tomatoes in place of the can of whole tomatoes, because they were the only organics that the store that I was at carried. I used 1/2 orange bell pepper & 1/2 red bell, and for the spices I used 1 Tbsp organic Italian Seasoning. 

Here is how it turned out!  

The recipe suggested serving it over rice, but I decided to use organic red quinoa.  Quinoa is a complete protein, and was perfect for this dish!  I can't stress enough, though, the need for a good quality quinoa.  I buy mine bulk, at WF, but that wasn't always the case.  The first bag of quinoa that we bought was from Sam's Club, and seemed like such a great deal...a big bag of organic for around $5.00!  Blech!  Every bite had crunchy sandy bits in it, like chomping on glass.  Disgusting.  That bag, sadly, went right in the garbage.

I made mine in the rice cooker, but the stove top works just as well.  Just use twice as much water as quinoa.  

About 20 minutes later, I had this...

A nice big bowl of fluffy organic quinoa!  I added some salt, a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds, a drizzle of nonGMO canola, & the juice from 1/2 a key lime, and tossed.  

We paired it with this pretty little side salad, which we have nearly every night, but last night I added strawberries, and some fresh sliced Mediterra farm loaf.  I talk a little about Mediterra here.  

We only use my homemade dressing, with the exception of my kindergartner, who prefers organic Caesar when we have it in the house, which isn't too often.  You can find the recipe in this post.

  

Here are a couple of the kids pigging out, and a lot of empty plates!  

No, we don't usually do shirtless meals (please ignore my laundry), but somehow he suffered a wardrobe malfunction, so my husband just left him exposed (Janet flashback anyone?) instead of dirtying a new one.  He seems o.k. with it! 

My kindergartner loved it, though she did pick out the red pepper strips, claiming she doesn't like them.  Shhh...don't tell her, but she ate all of the orange pepper strips! (Muahahahahaha!)  Yes, she is in her pjs...waste not, want not...time included! 

Now this is what a mama likes to see...a line of empty plates!  

The whole family loved this meal, and has requested that it be added to our regular meals.  

Request granted! 

:)

Have a great day! 

Maple Fest, Revamped Granola Recipe, & Today's School Lunches

Good morning! 

The kids are off to school, those that attend public anyway, and the baby is still asleep.  So, it's just me & you (& my 8th grader, the dog, the bunny, & the bird)...

Here is what my kids took for lunch today...

1/2 a baked potato, organic plain yogurt (homemade berry sauce, chia seeds, drizzle of organic maple syrup, & homemade organic granola to mix in), 1/2 an organic pear, & an Ak Mak brand organic pb & j cracker sandwich. Not very colorful, I know, but I was in a hurry!  

How was your weekend?

Mine was fine, and consisted of the usual grocery shopping and time spent with family.  

Since we do our shopping on Saturday mornings, and we don't always bring the kiddos, we try to do something fun in the evening.  This week it was the Maple Festival.

Here is the family enjoying their maple stirs (100% pure maple syrup)...

Mine was too sweet for me, so I couldn't finish it.  I offered it to the baby, but he had apparently had enough.  My 8th grader was shivering by the time she had finished her stir.  My 1st grader thought it was ok, but has never had a big sweet tooth.  Now, my husband and my kindergartner savored every bite...she would have eaten the bowl if I had let her!

  

Once she had sugar, she was off...

"Can we get cotton candy?"  "No."

"Can we have ice cream?"  "No."

"Boy, those snow cones sure look good!"  "No."

"Can I have these chocolates?  Please?"  "No."

"Well, what can I have?"  

"French fries...we will share french fries."

and so we did...very reluctantly on my part, due to the fact that they had been deep fried in GMO canola.  It was a treat, though, and not too bad considering that we all shared.  It was the closest thing to real food at the whole festival.  We skipped the ketchup, and enjoyed our treat (my homemade fries are still tastier).

One of the things that I needed to shop for this week was granola ingredients.  We were nearly out, and it is a big part of our breakfast rotation.  I followed this recipe to the letter the last time I made granola, with the exception of adding raisins and dates, and I wasn't a huge fan.  It was too dark, the raisins and dates were rock hard, and it tasted burned.  I crossed my fingers, hoping the kids would still like it, and they did.  Phew...what a relief!  

I tweaked the recipe a bit this time around.  This resulted in a granola with just a hint of sweetness.  Add more honey or syrup if you'd like it sweeter.  I also left half of the seeds, nuts, and all of the coconut NEARLY raw.  We have a thing for raw, around here.  :)  Add them in earlier, or bake them for longer, if you'd like them crunchier.

I love this stuff, because it is so versatile...add stuff in, take stuff out...gotta love that!

Here is what I threw in this batch of granola...

5 1/4 cups organic rolled oats

1/2 cup organic almond slivers

1/2 cup raw sunflower seeds

1/2 cup unsweetened organic coconut flakes

1/2 cup raw organic pumpkin seeds

1 cup raisins

1 1/2 tsp gr. cinnamon

1 3/4 tsp gr. ginger

1 tsp gr. nutmeg

1/2 cup raw honey

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/4 cup organic maple syrup, plus 3 Tbsp

3 Tbsp butter

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.  Mix all of the oats, half of the almonds, sunflower seeds, & pumpkin seeds, and all of the spices (cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg) in a large bowl.  In a saucepan, mix the honey, vanilla, & 1/4 cup syrup, & add the butter.  Heat until boiling. 

Pour the honey mixture onto the oat mixture, stirring until evenly coated. 

Pour onto a large parchment or Silpat covered baking sheet, in an even layer.

Here is what my baking sheet was prepped with...

(Yes, it's an old baking sheet, but it still works, so I'm good with it.  :)  The silicone sheet looks dirty, because I took the pic after cooking this batch for the initial 60 minutes.  I was on auto pilot, and forgot to take pics up until that point.  Sorry.) 

Bake for 60 minutes, then remove.  Set oven to 250 degrees.

I then scooped it all back into the bowl, where I added the rest of the pumpkin & sunflower seeds, the rest of the almonds, and all of the coconut and raisins. 

Add the remaining 3 Tbsp maple syrup, and stir to coat.

Spread out in an even layer on the same baking sheet, with either the same silicone sheet, or fresh parchment, if needed.

Bake for 10 minute, then remove.  Let cool.

Here it is!  I store it in an airtight container.  This recipe made 3 qts of granola.  It's great for cereal, snacks, and on top of yogurt.  

:)

Have a great day! 

My Whole Food Lifestyle...Step by Step, Waste Not Want Not, & Today's School Lunches

Good afternoon!

It truly is.  I am a survivor...of first grade field trips!  Woo hoo!  

Here is what we had for lunch today...

 My kindergartner... 

Greek yogurt tube, strawberries, organic pumpkin seeds/raisins, all natural nonGMO tortilla chips, & 1/2 a sandwich (GH Dakota bread, organic spinach, homemade organic hummus, & colby cheese)

My first grader & I (everything disposable, field trip lunches)...Sorry, I didn't have time to take a pic of it this morning, as we were too busy running around like mad people to get out the door on time, but here is a pic from when we sat down to eat.

Organic pear, LaraBar ( I had Ginger Snap, he had Coconut Cream Pie, which he did not care for), packet of Justin's Maple Almond Butter (Which he also did not care for...Oh well, you can't win 'em all.), sandwich (I had lightly grilled organic yellow squash, homemade organic hummus, colby, & organic spinach.  He had organic spinach & tomato.  Both were on GH Dakota.), & bottled water.  Mine has organic black chia seeds in it. 

I have to say, I had a great group of boys today.  :)  I enjoyed every moment with them.  

Mine was especially funny last night.  Check out this conversation we had...

Him: Mom, if we have questions and we raise our hands, can you always call on me first because I'm your son?

Me: Hmm...I'm not sure that is fair.  You know, we need to be fair to everyone.  

Him: No, it's fair.  You're still gonna answer everyone's questions, but you'll just answer mine first.

Who can argue with that logic?  Let's just say that I answered all questions as they came at me.  :)

Really quickly, I wanted to share with you what we had for dinner last night.  I call this type of meal "Waste Not Want Not".

You know those days when you're just chugging along, no problems, and then it hits you...I have a family to feed!  That was yesterday.  I was cruising along through my day, and I realized that I had no dinner planned.  This is the beauty of whole foods.  I can always figure something out.  

I entered the pantry...this is what I call a "dead zone".  Every time I go in there, I have no clue why I'm there.  So, I grabbed a bag of dry kidney beans, thinking I could do a quick soak.  I decided on beans, salad, & the leftover baguette. After soaking the beans, I began to cook them, trying to figure out just what I wanted to do with these.  Just beans?  Beans and onions?  Bean soup?  My meal began evolving in my mind based on what I was pulling out of the fridge...odds and ends of this and that.  Here is what I threw in the pot...an organic yellow squash end that I chopped up, some frozen organic corn, leftover frozen organic chick pea/black bean blend, leftover red onion, 2 organic carrots that I chopped up, some dried herbs, some frozen red/green/yellow/orange pepper strips, about 1/2 cup leftover 13 bean soup, & salt.  

Everyone loved it!  It helped me clean out the fridge, and fed my family...a win win! What you see with it is roasted organic yellow squash.  This was the result of an earlier failed attempt at making squash chips...I sliced them too thin.  I had this whole bowl of VERY thinly sliced squash, so I decided to roast it.  I layered it on an oiled baking sheet, drizzled with nonGMO canola, & sprinkled with salt.  I roasted it at 350 degrees, until slightly browned and soft.  I just kept an eye on it.  This was so delicious!  A keeper, for sure. 

And last, but not least, a good friend of mine asked me to detail the steps that I have taken, in order, toward a whole food, chemical free, lifestyle.  I'm going to attempt to do that in the greatest detail possible.  So, here goes...

*Juicing...We were juicing every day.  You can find out more about our juicing here.  This definitely made a difference in how we felt. 

*Drastically reduced meat consumption to MAYBE once a week.

*Eliminated artificial flavors and colors.  This cut out nearly all processed foods.

*"Let food be thy medicine, and medicine be thy food."~Hippocrates   I began treating all of our illnesses with what I called "healing foods".

*Began purchasing pure cane sugar...no more white sugar.

*Cut out all meat, and moved to a plant based diet. 

*Chemicals, antibiotics, & hormones...I did my research, used apps to help, and slowly began eliminating these from our diet. This eliminated nearly all eating out.

*Flour...buying only whole wheat and UNBLEACHED white (used sparingly, and always combined with wheat flour).

*Milk...began purchasing only Hartzler's, and only whole milk.

*Chia seeds...I began drinking organic black chias in either water or green drink, daily.

*Honey...began purchasing honey to use as our main sweetener, reducing our dependence on the cane sugar.  I use honey in everything.  

*Bought water filtration pitcher, using it in everything that isn't cooked, including our green drink.  This, or our green drink, is nearly all that we drink. Other than the occasional coffee or unsweetened organic green tea. 

*Microwave...we stopped using it for anything other than popcorn. We could easily get rid of it. 

*Kid's lunches...bought all the supplies that I needed to make the kids lunches that met my standards, never planning on buying the school's lunches again.

*GMOs...more research.  I began to seriously avoid GMOs.  Find out more about GMOs here.

*Added sugars...if it has more than 5g per serving, it was most likely not going into my cart, or our bodies.  This was a major change...probably the biggest.  No more sweets, donuts, etc.  Though I didn't realize it, I was definitely addicted to sugar.  We went cold turkey.  We didn't ignore our cravings.  We recognized them, tried to pinpoint exactly what it was that we were wanting, and figured out the best way to satisfy them.  Something sweet?  Fruit could do that.  Chocolate?  A small amount of yogurt w/dark chocolate shavings could satisfy that.  If we have a dessert now, it is either yogurt, fresh fruit, frozen fruit, or a combination.

*Body care...I began choosing natural body products.  Soaps, body wash, shampoo, toothpaste, & sunscreen are some of the body care products that I now buy natural.  This is still a work in progress.  Check out what is in your toothpaste.  I was shocked!  I use peroxide as a mouth wash.  It's great for whitening teeth, too.  

*Juice...I cut out all juice other than what we make.  Juice has too much sugar.  It takes quite a few oranges to make a cup of oj...I'd never give my children that many oranges at one sitting!  So, instead of juice, you get the whole orange, apple, etc.  This way, they get all of the vitamins, nutrients & fiber.    

*Maple syrup...began purchasing organic maple syrup, always keeping some on hand to use as one of our 2 main sweeteners.  We typically only use the pure cane sugar for baking.

*30% raw...I began serving at least 30% of every meal raw.  That would be fresh or frozen fruit, uncooked or very lightly steamed veggies, etc. This ensures that we get the maximum nutrition from that portion of our meal.

*Unhealthy treat/snack buy back...If the kids are offered/given a treat or snack at school that isn't beneficial for their bodies, they can bring it home to me, and I will "buy" it back.    I may "buy" it with a special movie night of their choice, money, video game time, outside time, etc.  They get to choose.  Of course, they can always choose to eat the item offered to them, but they tend not to.  They like being able to negotiate for something more rewarding with mom.  I'm so proud of them when they bring those items home.  :)

*12 hour rule...I began waiting 12 hours from the time of my last meal of the day to my first meal of the next.  This has really helped my digestion, eliminating that backed up, over-full feeling.  

**Organics...throughout this whole process we were slowly incorporating more organic into our diets.  Once we buy an organic item, we tend not to go back to conventional.  The items that now only buy organic are butter, cows milk that isn't Hartzler's, carrots, lemons, kiwi, bananas, apples, oranges, pasta, pasta sauce, corn (all varieties), spinach, salad greens, oats, eggs, lacinato kale, plain yogurt, peanut butter, brown rice, quinoa, many of our dry beans, dry herbs & spices (bulk),chia seeds, & popcorn.  There may be others, but that's all I can think of right now.  We add in more organic items all the time. 

**Toss it...I slowly cleaned out the pantry, freezers, & fridge, throwing away the things that didn't meet the above guidelines.  

**Say "no thank you"...it's ok to say "no thanks" to something that doesn't fit the whole food lifestyle.  

**Make it yourself...if someone else made it, so can you!  

**Add in the good, it will crowd out the bad.

**I don't eat anything masquerading as something else.  

**If you can't pronounce it, or wouldn't be able to cook with it in your own kitchen...don't eat it! 

**If it isn't helping your body, it's harming it.  

Well, there they are...all the steps I have taken so far on our lifestyle journey.  I really hope these help you figure out where to start, and where to go from there. 

 This is just the path that I took on my family's journey...your path may be different.  :)

   

How I Shop/What I Ask Myself & Today's School Lunches

Good morning!  

I don't know about you, but this weather is really messing with me.  My husband reminded me last night that it will have to get (and stay) warm...eventually.  I haven't been able to run due to other obligations & the weather. It was really starting to get me down!  I did dance last night, even though I was exhausted, and it made me feel better.  A good night's sleep helped, too!  

Here is what my kiddos took for lunch today...

I know the thermos looks empty, but it's not!  It contains creamy, nonGMO, pure coconut milk.  The kids will empty their baggie of homemade organic granola into it, having cereal and milk for lunch!  :)  They also have 1/2 a piece of GH Dakota bread (the usual 5 ingredients, plus pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, millet, & sesame seeds) w/ real butter, 1/2 an organic pear, & organic carrots w/ organic pb.

And look how cute this is...

I found this yesterday at Marc's for $.99!  I'm using it for a butter crock.  How pretty organic butter looks in there! 

My family is still taking baby steps on our chemical free-whole foods journey.  No one can do this overnight.  Taking it one small step at a time makes it more manageable and less overwhelming.  Right now, we are at the point of adding more organics in, and once we buy an organic item, we don't go back.  

Keep in mind that just because something says it is "all natural" doesn't mean it is beneficial to your body.  Many food additives are derived from nature, but these are grown in a lab, or are often isolates (drawing out and concentrating one particular element), changing something that could otherwise be harmless into something harmful.  A whole food diet, by virtue of being "whole", contains no isolates.  We eat the "whole food", getting all of the nutrients in that particular food.  

Simply being "natural", does not mean that it should be consumed.  Poison Ivy is natural, but I wouldn't eat it!  Many foods say they are "all natural"...never accept what the front label says!  Always look at the ingredients...it is the only label that matters.  Their goal is to sell a product, and "all natural" makes it sound like you are making a better choice.  Check the ingredients to see if you really are.  

Another common misconception is that if it is in a healthy supermarket, it must be healthy! Wrong...sort of.  They are usually better choices, but junk is still junk, chemicals are still chemicals, additives are still additives, too much sugar is still too much sugar...even if organic.  Yes, there are organic junk foods!  Yes, there are organic processed foods!  Yes, there are things that I happily pass by, and my kids don't even ask for.  Here is a list of what are, and are not, allowed in organic foods.  

The questions I ask myself when shopping are...

(In the produce section)

Is there organic available?  Organic produce starts with a 9 (9xxxx)  Conventional starts with a 4 (4xxx).

Is this genetically modified?

If local, what are their farming practices?

(Outside of the produce section)

How many ingredients/how processed?  The fewer the ingredients, the more whole the food is.  An organic apple is a whole food...and it is only one ingredient.

Are there any unnecessary additives, organic or otherwise?

Is this GMO free?

If it isn't GMO free, is there organic available? This ensures no genetically modified ingredients.  

How much sugar is in it?  If it is more than 5g per serving, I will typically walk away.

What do I need to make this myself? If I can't find a product meeting these standards.   

Keep in mind that there is no store that does all of the work for you.  I recently read an article on Whole Foods and GMOs.  The author felt that Whole Foods was deceiving its customers, because a great many thought that shopping there eliminated the threat of GMOs.  How ridiculous!  I never, from day one, thought that every product sold at Whole Foods was GMO free.  I never expected anyone to do ALL of the work for me.  The truth is that WF, and other stores like it, offer you a better pool of products to choose from.  Many of these stores don't allow foods with artificial ingredients, and that is already a lot of work that you don't have to do, and I'm grateful for that.  I, however, am still responsible for the food that enters my family's bodies.  I have to flip over the package to avoid additives like carrageenan & MSG (in all of its forms) just to name a couple, and added sugars.  My health is still my responsibility.  

Whole Foods has made a commitment to having all food sold in their stores, that contain genetically modified ingredients, labeled by the year 2018.  I applaud them for that.  In five years time, we will have a bit less work to do when shopping at Whole Foods.  In the meantime, though, all 365 branded (Whole Foods brand) products are nonGMO verified. 

So, do your homework.  There are apps that can help...Additives 2 & Fooducate are a couple.  Also, be sure to check out the Dirty Dozen & ShopNoGMO apps.  There is also the Fresh Food Finder app, which will lead you to fresh local produce and farmer's markets. 

:) 

One cannot think well, love well, and sleep well, if one has not dined well. ~Virginia Woolf

You Ate What? & Today's School Lunches

Things have been so busy this week, and won't be slowing down until next.  So, I'm just gonna hit you with a couple things in today's post.  

Here is what my kiddos took for lunch today...

2 different lunches...1st grader- taco salad (homemade organic black beans w/ a bit of my own homemade taco seasoning, chopped tomato, shredded cheese, & fresh butter lettuce), 2 homemade nonGMO corn torillas, whole organic apple, & Greek yogurt tube.

Kindergartner- sandwich (GH Honey Whole Wheat, organic pb, & berry sauce), raisins, cheese skewers, & a whole kiwi.

YOU ATE WHAT?

And, I didn't even dare you!  

Check out this label from Muller's Frut Up yogurt...

Do you see it?  What?  Loads of chemicals, MSG, GMOs, additives, & preservatives?  All of that is gross, but it is something else...

Look at the "contains" lists...MILK, WHEAT, TILAPIA...What?  Tilapia?  It must be something else, right?  Nope, it's tilapia...it's fish.  In fact, the one that I picked up and read in the store actually said "fish" in parentheses next to "tilapia".

YUMMY!!!

For some inspiration & motivation, watch Hungry for Change & Forks Over Knives.  Both are available to watch instantly on Netflix.  

Today's School Lunches, Ok, I Froze It...What Now? & I Can't Believe I Won!

Good Morning! 

The weather lately has been quite an improvement.  :)  I'll take it!

Here is what my kiddos took for lunch today...

 A thermos of 13 Bean Soup (Bob's Red Mill), organic orange slices & grapes, homemade organic hummus w/ organic carrots to dip, & 1 1/2 slices of Mediterra sourdough.  

We always buy Mediterra when we are at the West Side Market.  We love the values that they adhere to, using only the simplest and highest quality ingredients, often organic.  The same values that we, as a family, have with regards to our food.

We love their little sourdough loaves, and try to get to the market early enough to buy quite a few of them.  They are so cute, and are only $1 each! 

Each one is about the size of a bread bowl.  This past weekend, we bought 6 of them.  

You can find out more about Mediterra here.

There are times where I buy a lot of certain items, especially if I get a deal.  Or, there are just times when I have things in the fridge that I know I'm not going to be able to use before they go bad.  

What do I do?  I freeze them!  

I freeze left over soups and beans, no matter how small.  These things can be used in the kid's lunches, or even incorporated into new soups or other meals.  

If I have just a bit of marinara sauce left in this jar or that, or after a meal, or some pizza sauce left, I combine them and freeze them in a mini muffin tin.  This makes perfect portions for school lunches, so I use these when the kids have pizza "lunchables".  The sauce is thawed by the time lunch rolls around.

I wash & freeze a lot of produce.  I freeze grapes, mango, berries, bananas, peppers, and nearly anything else you can think of.  

In the pic below, you can see how I freeze nearly everything...a single layer, not touching, and once frozen I transfer to a freezer bag to use in smoothies, desserts, stir fry, soups, etc.

These berries

washed, dried, & dipped in plain organic Greek yogurt, became this after zipping them in the food processor...

a homemade banana berry frozen yogurt, sweetened with a hint of honey.  

This homemade strawberry banana ice cream

was made in the food processor from frozen bananas, frozen strawberries, organic milk, & honey.

Frozen pineapple becomes

"Dole Whip", with the addition of a bit of almond milk & honey.

I even freeze cheese...I just shred it and place it in a single layer on a baking sheet, then transfer to a freezer bag, once frozen.  I use this for pizzas.  It's a huge time saver!  

And finally, I can't believe I won!!  

Earth Fare is opening a new store in Solon, Ohio on May 8.  If you haven't been to an Earth Fare store, you should check them out.  Go here to look for the location nearest you.  We just love Earth Fare, and always look forward to going.  They also have great ready made, or made to order, meals at great prices.  The pizza is a great value and is delicious! 

They have been having a gift card giveaway on their Facebook page.  I entered, and I actually won!  I couldn't believe it!  Here is a screenshot...

I can pick up my gift card May 8-May 12...

Happy Mother's Day to me!  :)

Earth Day Inspiration & All Natural...Taking It Even Further.

Happy Earth Day!

I'm Earth Day inspired.  Our family has too much trash!  It's completely crazy, though it isn't as bad as it was when we were eating processed and packaged foods.  I'm not going for a Zero Waste Home, like my fellow Bloggers, but more can be done.  

We are beginning to compost, which will take care of most of our food prep scraps.  I'm making my own granola now, which is the only cereal the kids eat.  My milk comes in glass bottles, which I return for deposit, and the dairy then reuses.  I'm buying more in bulk, eliminating plastic packaging.  I'm now washing and reusing my zipper bags.  I reuse my paper grocery bags.  90% of the time we drink filtered water, no longer buying bottled.  I save all glass jars, and I reuse them for dressings, berry sauce, and the bulk items I buy.  I many of the things we eat, eliminating a lot of waste from packaging.

So, here is where I'm thinking I can go even further...

-Make my own produce bags.  I'm not sure when, but I'm inspired now.  It's something I really want to do.  

-Make my own small bulk bags, but barring that, reuse the paper bulk bags.  I can take those bags back to the store with me and just cover up the old sticker with a new one.  I could do this countless times with one bag!  

-Recycle!

Well, it's a start.  I'll keep thinking of ways to reduce my family's footprint, aside from just recycling, which we definitely don't do.  

How do you reduce the negative impact your family has on the environment?

Taking ALL-NATURAL even further...

My husband and I were having a conversation about how I want to limit our dairy and egg consumption.  I believe that only a small amount of these things is best, and though he agrees, he was hoping to be able to turn to these products for increased protein. 

Protein.  Here we go again..."in the box" thinking.  

I sighed, "This again?  I thought we had settled this once and for all.  You eat a varied diet, rich in protein from beans and other vegetable sources.  You do eat dairy, but in limited amounts.  Same with eggs."  

Him..."Yes, but I need to increase my protein to build muscle mass.  I don't want to be weak and puny."

Me..."What?  You're not weak and puny!"

Now, I had to take a minute to think about this, to formulate a response.  I'm sure he was still talking in the background.  All right, I'm ready.  

Me..."It occurs to me, that you may be trying to push your body beyond what is natural for it.  You should be able to continue to gain muscle mass with the protein you are getting, up to what is natural for you.  If you have to cross the line into something that isn't natural, then you're trying to achieve something that isn't natural for your body.  Just like my weight loss.  I'm not trying to lose any amount of weight, it is just happening naturally. I'm not setting a goal weight, because my goal is what is natural for me.  Following this lifestyle, I will continue to lose weight until my body settles at that.  No extremes."

Him..."Yeah, I thought of that."

Hopefully what I said sunk in, because I really believe it.  

What do you think?